The present invention relates to shields for use with machine tools to deflect materials ejected from work areas thereof.
In various machining operations such as grinding, buffing, polishing, drilling, milling, etc., chips, broken tools, or coolant where used, are occasionally ejected from the work areas of the machines and can present a hazard to an operator thereof or other nearby personnel. In an attempt to minimize and hopefully prevent injuries caused by such ejected material, and for other reasons, the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 was enacted, and requires in part that one or more methods of machine guarding be provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, rotating parts, or flying chips.
Customarily, protection against flying chips and the like is provided by shields extending across the forward sides of the work areas. Such shields generally mount in or in close proximity to the work areas, and when moved aside either the mount or the shield itself often impedes access to the area. Further, upon change of the workpiece setup, the mount must often be repositioned to clear the new setup. Quick change mounts such as those having magnetic bases, while intended to alleviate the aforementioned problems, scratch and tend to be bumped off the machine mounting surface, sometimes into the work area itself. Thus, present day protective shields are generally very inconvenient to use and adjust, which often results in improper or even lack of use of such shields.